Entrepreneurs who are starting a new venture have many things to worry about. In case you are asking yourself, “why does my small business need insurance?” The simple answer is that accidents and incidents can occur at any time. When they do, business liability insurance helps pay for damages you’d otherwise have to cover out of pocket. Here are six reasons you should have small business liability insurance and why, if you’re a military member or dependent, you should choose USAA Insurance for your business needs.
Somebody Could Sue You
There are many reasons why small businesses are sued: copyright infringement, property accidents and injuries, and emotional disciplinary decisions, to mention a few. Even the most careful business owner can be hit with a frivolous lawsuit. If one comes your way, you could lose time, money, and energy. Let’s hope it won’t happen to you, but if it does, small business liability insurance can help by providing business or commercial liability protection. In other words, your insurance company will step into the ring to cover you financially in the event you are sued.
The Wall Between Your Personal Finances and Those of Your Business May Be Tiny
According to Hostinger, 86.6% of businesses in the United States are sole proprietorships – unincorporated businesses with only one owner who pays personal income tax on profits earned. The reason behind this huge percentage is that sole proprietorships are easy to establish and dismantle due to the lack of government involvement. Limiting your liability will avoid selling your personal assets to pay off the debt in the most threatening cases. In conjunction with the right business structure, liability insurance can provide you with invaluable protection.
Your Business Income is Essential
Creating an additional, bigger alternate stream of income may have been at the heart of starting your business. However, it’s amazing how fast “extra income” can become another element of your core spending. With that, some sort of disaster or incident could jeopardize your family’s accounts. That’s where small business insurance can come into play. Business insurance policies provide income replacement or continuation and pay for extra expenses when your business is affected by a covered peril.
You Are a Magnet for Cybercrime
According to this article on Hostlinger: “71% of growing small businesses survived the pandemic through digitization”, making it crucial to have an online presence for your salon or barbershop in a post-pandemic world. With this move toward digitization, small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than larger companies. You want to deploy an array of protective measures on this front by setting up business insurance that is cybercrime inclusive.
You Need to Protect Your Business Property
Protecting your physical location and equipment is important for any small business. Your business may have a host of equipment such as barber chairs, POS systems, shears, hair dryers, etc. Even if that’s not the case, it’s likely you have inventory and other business property, and losing them would be a major roadblock. Therefore, you’ll want to get business personal property insurance along with general liability insurance. Without these coverages, you may have to pay claims and damages out of pocket, which can put you and your business at financial risk.
You Are in The Market to Add Employees
Your employees take care of your business, so you need to take care of them. Having the right people in the right position within your business helps you delegate many tasks and free you up to do what you do best. Here’s a good general rule: if your small business has employees of any kind, it likely needs workers’ compensation coverage. Requirements vary by state, but it’s a good idea to protect your workforce to the fullest extent. On the other hand, if it turns out you’re mixed up in a wrongful termination or harassment lawsuit, your small business insurance could provide liability protection.
Let USAA or the USAA Insurance Agency help protect what you’ve worked hard for!
There’s no better time than today to take a close look at business insurance as part of your overall protection plan.
Join ShearShare
Download our app to join ShearShare as a Host or Pro. Check our blog for resources, updates, and news relevant to the beauty and barbering industry. And be sure to follow ShearShare on all social media platforms to join our #ShearShareCommunity!
